Atonement
by Dhea Hunter
Summary: Mission City . That was the start of all this. I didn't know what exactly happened , but the government kept a tight lip on it all. Not that it really mattered to me, I just wanted to forget about it and move on.What I really wanted to know was , who was the genius that came up with the idea that making me work with the two-tonne robots responsible, was a good idea?
1. Chapter 1

"Ok, so 3K for the bug, deal?"

"We already talked about this, Tony.5K. No less."

"Oh come on sweetheart, you know I ain't payin' five grand for that old wagon."

"I KNOW you're going to pay, because that old wagon is still in good condition; none of the seats are scratched, there's no rust on the paint, no dents either and the engine still runs smoothly. I know because I payed 850 for a full engine rebore. "

I was getting annoyed now. 3 weeks we've been going over this, and 3 weeks he's be playing around with the price. I worked my ass off the keep that car running, and he was not going to hustle me out of the five thousand it was worth. Tony was a car dealer known for his cheap cars, as they were rarely in good enough condition to be called cars, but he knew how to negotiate. He was the one who offered me money for the bug in the first place, and I was determined to get its full price and not what Tony thought would be enough to get rid of me.

"I don't care what you did with the car, that was your business not mine, I know its street value and –"

"Liar. Look , you're either gonna give me what I asked, or I'm going elsewhere with it and get even more money from a proper car dealer. "

He hated that. When someone insinuated that he wasn't good at his job. A vein in the middle of his forehead would spring up, and if you poked his pride enough, you would notice the pumping blood passing through it due to his aggravated state. His eyes would slowly poke out of their holes, until they would look ready to pop out.

"Ok listen here you little –"

I raised one of my eyebrows in an expectant manner. I was ready to just take the bug and sell it elsewhere, but I wanted to try my luck with Tony first. Plus I really wanted to get rid of it. Quickly.

He took a deep breath, raised his head to the sky as if saying 'why me? ', and then turned back to me.

"Four grand."

I opened my mouth to protest, but he shushed me with a raised hand.

"AND you get 10 percent off of any car here." He said, opening his hands wide towards the yard full of cars around us. He turned back to me with a sly smirk growing on his lips, though he tried to hide it. "Figured that if you're selling your car, you're going to need a new one."

 _Bastard_.

"25." I said looking him in the eye." I know practically every car you have here ,Tony. I know them by heart, they're practically neighbors, and I've only been seeing them every day since I got here. " Few cars had been sold from the four years I've been living here. The rest had just been gathering rust in the yard, sometimes used for engine parts or the likes . And I knew every single one of them, as I had been browsing for my first car before Mission City happened.

"Stubborn-"

"Goodbye Tony. " I got into the car, purposely slamming the door loud enough to startle a few cats sunbathing on the nearest cars. Startled , they jumped a foot in the air , or fell off in the case of the ginger tomcat at the edge of the car , all with their nails drawn , leaving a couple of scratches on said cars.

Tony ran to the cars, cursing at the cats, and waving his hands to scare them off. They only hissed, and being the stubborn creatures they are, crept back on the car to resume their previous activities.

By the time he remembered the cause of his frustration, I had already sped off.

* * *

An hour later, I was back at my apartment, sitting down in the fire escape overlooking the parking lot for the block's residents. I had a beer in hand, and my eyes were zoned in on the bug.

It was practically brand new, with the engine rebore. It had an apple green spray and chrome details and matching rims. It was a vintage collector's bargain at five thousand. Once upon a time, I would have been proud to have been its owner. But now, I hated it, and I couldn't wait to get rid of it.

Simply put, only bad memories were associated with that car now, unwanted memories. So it had to go. That, and I needed money. I lost my last job, and I needed some cash to cover me until I found something else.

I had applied for any vacancies available in the area, but all I got were empty interviews. I was hoping the café downtown would hire me, if not, I had to go to my last resort. The army.

~1 week later~

I closed the last box, feeling a sense of accomplishment in having packed away the last of my belongings. I would only need my essentials for training, the rest would be kept away at one of my neighbors, who owed me a couple of favors from all of the years I spent babysitting their kids.

I gave one last look at the apartment, looking for anything I might have missed. My eyes landed on a weathered brown sofa in the living room, where a middle aged man used to sit, shouting at players on the screen as if he was on the field coaching them, throwing peanuts when any play lead to a score for the opposing team.

Past the living room, there was a cramped kitchen, its counters eerily empty when they usually where full with chopped food and scattered utensils, the matron of the house wielding a knife in front of them as she scolded her husband for the racket he was making.

Nearly 3 months since Mission City, and I still wasn't used to the emptiness that my parents had left behind. That's why I was so eager to get rid of the bug. It was their first child so to speak, it had been there through the first awkward dates and early rocky steps of their relationship, through their honeymoon, through their first house, it was even the memorable spot where I was born. It was basically there through every up and down they had together, it had sentimental value.

Now every time I looked at it lately, I wanted to bury it six feet under with my parents. But I didn't have the heart to. So, I found a new family to take care of it and create new memories with.

The neighbors, the Smiths, who had agreed to take care of the rest of my possessions, had a daughter who was heading off to college soon, so I gave her the bug as a good will gesture for half the price I had asked Bobby for.

I left the packed boxes lying around, the Smiths would put them away somewhere safe, and headed out with a red duffle bag with anything I needed jammed in it. I had passed the army tests not long after I applied, and now I was heading off to training for 3 months. I locked the door , and pushed the key under the Smiths' door. I refused to look back as I headed out , I never wanted to see this apartment, or that car ever again.

* * *

"OK, listen up! This week was the last week of your training, and I rarely say this, but you've done well. You've worked hard to get here, and I hope that you'll keep working hard where ever you're going to be next. Right here, I have your placements. Now, I'm going to remind you, that the decision was taken based on your assessment these last 3 months, your skills and qualifications also influenced the final outcome. If for some reason, you think you're better off somewhere else, you have till the end of next week to talk to me."

The 27 bodies that made up the new recruits were scattered around the course grounds, all red in the face from the heat from the afternoon sun and the 5 hour training course we had just been through. Although tired, there was a happy buzz in the atmosphere. We had just finished our 3 month training, and now we were ready to be sorted ,so to speak.

Our trainer, Major William Lennox, had a proud look on his face, something akin to the one a mentor would have after his student left the training wheels. Clutched in his hand was a thin stack of papers, where our sorting was written.

I had hope to be sorted into the mechanics division or something similar. It seemed the most interesting , but there were a couple of recruits who already had experience with mechanics or studied something similar at school , that it was obvious that they were going to be the first choice for it.

" Now , before we start , I just wanted to inform you that the ones that are going to be called out under N.E.S.T , are going to have a meeting at 6pm. Nest is a prototype division that is the military is trying out and you will be informed exactly what it's about and what is expected of you. If after you should wish to pass to a more stable branch, as stated before, you have until the end of the week."

Whispers and looks spread out, all confused and surprised as no one had been informed of this new division. Spencer, a brown haired-blue eyed recruit, that was one of the more athletic ones of the group, raised his hand, which the major nodded to.

"What happens if N.E.S.T. doesn't work out? I mean, you said it was a prototype division, does that mean it has a chance of being discarded?"

"If that happens, you will be given a chance to choose where to go next, and depending on your stats, you will be moved to the area of your choice."

"Fair enough, since they'll probably be wasting our time from the looks of it, "a woman next to me muttered. Sandra, was a honey blonde 22 year old, known as the resident loud mouth, you could hear her from a mile away with that voice of hers. She was my roommate, and being the only two women present, we become friends these last few months. Not sister like, but we would be exchanging letters every now and then.

I snorted, earning a half smile from her. We were passed talking in our friendship, now we could communicate with just a look.

The sorting started. As predicted, those with previous qualifications were immediately sorted into their respective posts such as computing, mechanics or the aerial division, the rest were sorted on where most likely to succeed. Unsurprisingly, Sandra got sorted to communications.

"Shay, Evans, Green, Ford, Schmidt and Crocker." I perked up at the mention of my name. "You're in nest. Meeting 6pm sharp – don't forget." And then he started calling out the aerial division.

Sandra and I exchange a look.

 _You got any idea?_ Raised eyebrow.

 _No clue._ Shrug.

 _Damn._ Huff. _You'll tell me later right?_

 _Sure._ Nod.

Resident loud mouth and gossip girl, ladies and gentlemen.

Once the sorting was done, we headed off to the showers. Being the only two girls, me and Sandra had the girls' showers to ourselves.

"Kind of last minute to tell us about the new division, don't you think? What do you think it's about? "

"I have no idea," I replied." Maybe it's a nature thing? I mean nest does kind of hint to something like that yeah?"

"Mm… Maybe, "she thought. She opened her locker, and pulled out her stuff, before slamming it shut and turning back to me." Seems like a waste to me, 3 months training to go bird watching.I guess we'll know after 6, yeah?"

"I hope so."

I took off to one of the stalls before Sandra could continue on her gossip spree. She was a nice girl to have around, but the one vice that she had was her need to gossip, and when she was in one of her moods, God help the poor soul in her sights.


	2. Chapter 2

6pm came, and I was gathered with the other recruits called under Nest in a cramped room next to the communications offices. There was a 30-inch TV jammed behind us, which as Major Lennox said was going to give us a live feed with General Morshower , who along with the former were going to give us an idea of what Nest is.

The technician fiddling with the wires looked annoyed, as for the fourth time, the TV refused to power up. He shook a wire at Lennox saying he'd be right back, before he headed out of the room. Lennox looked at his wrist watch, before he rubbed his face in a tired sort of way.

For the 3 months that he has been training us, he would often be replaced by other officers, as he would be called away on business regarding to Mission City. Apparently, Lennox and his group were directly in the thick of it when the attack took place, so now they were charged with being the main ones who would oversee anything having to do with it. There were plenty of problems that still had to be taken care of, but this week was especially trying for them.

Apparently, some wanna-be know it all was spreading rumors about what really happened during the attack, saying it was giant robots from space that came to take over Earth. At first, he was easily blown off by the public, people generally like to believe what makes more sense, and a terrorist group seemed more believable. But then he started posting pictures. And videos.

They could have been easily ignored as something generated by some techie with a large imagination and attention to detail. But whoever it was, was smart. How could animated videos explain the prints left behind on the ground and the blue colored ooze that no one seemed to figure out where it came from? How could terrorist bombs explain the thick grooves that looked as if they came from some overcharged Wolverine the size of a house? He used newspapers and media feeds to connect the dots, and that got a lot of people riled up. While there was still some speculation about the existence of giant robots, there was no doubt that the government had lied about what really happened.

New theories and stories were constantly popping up every hour. Some seemed to be getting close to what the government wanted to hide, so Lennox and his team were brought in to deal with it all. We only saw him for a few hours during the last week, the rest of the time he was dealing with that mess.

"All right everyone, listen up. "

We all straightened up in our seats, as we were used to when Lennox talked to us. It was instinct by now.

"I'm sure you all have heard about Mission City. Everyone knows about the damage done and the amount of people that died. What you don't know is what really happened," Lennox said." The media said it was a terrorist attack, but it wasn't the usual type of terrorists that we normally hear about."

My heart ticked. Were they really going to tell the truth? To us? We were still new, and I'm pretty sure that we didn't have that much clearance yet. Was this some kind of test? Or some twisted joke? I still get nightmares about flashing red eyes and some weird clicking language, but I always manage to convince myself that it was just my imagination making it up as a coping mechanism.

I leaned back in my chair and crossed my arms, the perfect definition of calm, bored interest on the outside. On the inside, I felt like a kid again, afraid to sleep without the light on because the monsters would come and get me. I felt my chest tighten all of a sudden, I had a bad feeling about this.

The techie had come in while Lennox was talking, and the TV was booting up now. Soon after, General Morshower, a serious faced man, whose hair was practically nonexistent, popped up.

"Good evening, Lennox. Took you long enough."

"Sorry, sir. Technical difficulties and all that."

Morshower rubbed his face, in a way similar to the way Lennox had just a few moments before. He had been dealing with the Mission City business as well, so it wasn't surprising that he was just as tired , if not more so, than Lennox.

"All right let's get this over with. " Morshower straightened up in his seat before turning back to us. "Now, I know you've all noticed that more often than not, Lennox here had to be replaced by someone else to look over your training, so that he could help me with business regarding Mission City."

"Let me make this clear straight away. Those terrorists that attacked all those months ago, are still on the run, and they have no intention of backing down. The threat is not over. They may be weak right now, we've hit them hard, but they're regrouping, and it's only a matter of time before they try something else. Lately, they've been getting impatient, and we've had a few stragglers feeling brave enough to try to stir shit up again. Lennox and his team have been on the front making sure that doesn't happen. But it hasn't been enough; and that's where Nest comes in.

"Nest is going to be our direct response towards these criminals; it is going to be focused solely on combating the enemy with weapons specialized in taking them down and solid tactics to minimize our losses," he said. "They've made it clear that they are nothing more than psychopaths that cannot be dealt with in any other way other than brute force; they're fanatics completely dedicated to their cause."

So that's what they wanted. They wanted to be prepared, understandably so, but why were they talking to only us new recruits? Shouldn't this be the whole army's concern?

He looked towards Lennox, who until now had stayed quiet, and motioned forward for him to take over.

The Major took a deep breath before starting, "Just to be clear, from now on, whatever you are going to be told, is confidential to only those present. When you signed those papers at the beginning of your recruitment, you signed an agreement saying that unless given authorization, you cannot talk about anything with red tape unless given direct permission by a higher up. "

"Apart from the terrorists, we also met a group who were dedicated to simply fighting against the terrorists, calling themselves the Autobots. They've shared all they can about the others, who we now know call themselves Decepticons, and they're the sole reason we won that battle. The Autobots are going to be directly involved with Nest, in fact it was created because of them, the information they have makes them invaluable and they're going to be working with us to make sure the Decepticons stay down.

"I've been watching all of you these last few months during training, enough to say that I know each and every one of you pretty well. I know your strengths and weaknesses and I've picked you out from the rest, because I think you have what it takes to work with these Autobots. You're strong, determined and smart. And most importantly, you're all able to think outside the box. I need people like that, like you, in Nest. The Autobots, they're kind of …unique, and we need people who can handle unique."

He had a small smile on his face as he finished, glancing at Morshower as if thinking of some private joke.

"That they are, Major, "the general stated, leaning back into his chair. " Now obviously, we can't give full details unless you're on board with this. If you are, you're going to be working closely with the Autobots, and we need to know you can deal with something that is not completely normal."

 _No… It can't be … Can it?_

I raised my hand. "Not completely normal, sir? What do you mean by that?"

Morshower looked a bit uncomfortable, as if he was chewing on some sour grape. "Like I said, I can't give you any more details, if you're not going forward with this, I'm sorry. But I think you can get an idea from what we've told you. There is no room for second guessing with these people; so either you're in or you're out. "

Morshower's face was no longer looking at us, as he focused on something behind the screen. His already stern mask grew if even possible more grim and hard.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to reschedule this meeting. Lennox, we have work to do. "

And without another word, he disappeared from the screen.

"Sorry about this, but I have to go help Morshower. We'll set up another meeting as soon as possible."

And with that, Lennox too was gone.

We shuffled out of the room, and headed back to our barracks. Spencer looked deep in thought, while the others were busy discussing the short meeting.

"Sounds serious…"

"Of course it sounds serious. You think they just put everyone on the highly psychotic list?"

Ford rolled his eyes , but still kept pace with Crocker . Those two had been joined at the hip the moment they met in recruitment. Crocker was the typical joker , brother to all , resident asshole of the recruits , he got along with pretty much everybody. He was a crazy idiot at times though , and that's where Ford came in. He's the rational part of the duo , where Crocker is an impulsive brazen bull , Ford is the patient thinker who is more often than not Crocker's conscience.

"Not what I meant, idiot. I mean , Lennox handpicked us , we got into a meeting with Morshower and we have that confidentiality agreement over our heads ; they don't just do that for anything , do they ?"

"You got a point there. You think those rumors are true ? The ones about the aliens ?"

"Could be ... There was some pretty good evidence linked to those posts , so it's not impossible..." Ford replied , rubbing his chin , a habit he often did. He turned to me , asking me for my opinion . We got along pretty well , and we often hung out , just talking mostly , about everything and anything really .

" Like you said, it's not impossible. The government didn't tell us the whole story , that much was obvious from the start. Guess we're finally finding out the big truth."

Crocker groaned , catching our attention. " Ok , ok, stop. Whenever you two start talking I get a headache. It's conspiracies this , universe that . Why don't you just talk about something simple ? Like pudding ?"

"You're hungry ,aren't you ? " Ford said wearily, elbowing him lightly.

" Maybe."

I breathed out a laugh as we changed our direction to the cafeteria. "Poor baby. Come on , your brain needs all the nutrients it can get. Maybe one day you can understand all the adult talk by yourself."

" Ha ha , you're hilarious. "

* * *

 **So , second chapter's up .**

 **It took longer than I thought because I'm trying to put every little detail that I'm seeing in writing , but not too much detail xp That and I keep adding and deleting stuff , I can't decide within a time limit , so when it's done it's done I guess...**

 **Any criticism is welcome , I like knowing other people's thoughts.**

 **Anyway , reader , hope you liked it :)**


	3. Chapter 3

Three days later, Lennox called for another meeting.

The first thing I noticed was that he looked even more tired than before if possible. He looked clean, fresh out the showers from his damp hair, but he looked like he needed a month long vacation.

"Okay, so my time here is short, so I'll get straight to it. I hope you've given the choice some thought. It's not a simple one I know, with what little you know, and how much pressure I'm putting on it, but I hope that you've at least considered it. The work you'll be doing will not be picking up daisies, you're going to be fighting against terrorists that are out of our league at times, but the Autobots are going to be giving us the advantage that we need to fight them off. I need you to be ready to face this head on, physically and mentally. Like I mentioned last time, the Autobots are unique, I need you to be able to handle that. And that's an understatement. They keep surprising me at times, but at the end of the day, I _know_ that they're a hundred percent on our side. There is no doubt."

There was no sugar coating in any of that. We were either in it or not, for better or for worse. I was still skeptical about all of this, one peek at Ford told me that he thought the same, but the way Lennox spoke was starting to make me realize that maybe I wanted to be a part of this.

"Being that the rest is classified, there's nothing else I can say. Now I'm going to be on base until Saturday, three days from now. On Saturday at 3 pm, I'm leaving. Those who decide to come with me, will be leaving at 3 pm. We'll be heading to another base, the location of which is classified for now, where the operation is taking place," he continued in the same stern, no-nonsense tone. He huffed and rubbed the bridge of his nose for a moment before leaning against the desk behind him.

"One last thing. I know that I mentioned that if you find the job unpleasant and that you want to leave, then you could do so. But it has been brought to my attention that it may not be possible, due to circumstances that have to do with the terrorists. So unfortunately, if you're in then you're in for the long haul."

And that was pretty much it.

I tried to think about it, but I always arrived to the same dilemma. My instincts told me to go, but my logical thoughts said that it was too great a risk to go into blindly. I had a chance to really go forward by just working hard at this base, there was no need to move. I was hard working and I caught on pretty fast to pretty much anything, so I would have no trouble finding a section that would take me. However, the thrill of the unknown was an alluring prospect that kept pulling me at it.

Sandra was ignorant to my thoughts, and took the fact that I hadn't mentioned anything about leaving as my decision to stay. She may not have said it out loud, but I kept getting the hints that she envied the fact that she wasn't given the option to go. I no longer got those dirty looks she tried to hide beneath a friendly face or those sarcastic comments. _Of course, I wasn't chosen for this, but it must be a difficult decision for those that were._ Since she decided that I wasn't going she's been more friendly and cheerful.

Shay and Crocker were going, they were already packed. Ford didn't say anything, but since Crocker was going I knew he'd think twice about staying. I wasn't sure about the others.

The days passed, and Saturday came. Some of our group had come to say their goodbyes to the ones that were going, Evans and Green had decided to stay, worried that their families might be involved with the terrorists, but like I predicted Ford was following Crocker down the rabbit hole.

I had already said my farewells to them early this morning. Crocker had given me a hug, Ford as well surprisingly, while Spencer was content to shake my hand a give me a friendly smile. The rest of the well-wishers were gathered around them now with Sandra among them for their turns at goodbye. I leaned against one of the hanger doors, the ones that housed the plane they would be taking off in. I felt like I should be going with them but I felt frozen to the spot.

Soft tapping boots gave away their owner as they walked next to me and turning around I saw that it was Lennox. He looked confused.

"You're not coming, are you?" he said. "I honestly thought you would."

"I don't think it's a good idea that's all."

His eyes studied my face, looking for something. "It's not."

"That's why I'm not coming," I repeated. He kept scrutinizing my face, reading whatever he was seeing. Was my face really that interesting?

"Something on my face, sir? " I said, not unkindly.

He snorted. "Somethings, yeah."

A loud laugh from the group caught our attention, Crocker was twirling Sandra around while she laughed as she spun.

"Your heart for one. Your lie for another. The rest is obvious."

I looked back at Lennox, my eyes widening at the bold statement. Was I really that obvious?

"Look, I don't know why you're holding back, but whatever it is I hope it's worth regretting your decision later tonight." And with that he turned to leave. A couple of paces away, he turned back to me saying. "We leave in twenty minutes, just so you know."

I watched him leave as my mind swirled with a sudden panic. I didn't want to stay, I wanted to go. All this overthinking was getting me nowhere but disappointment. When that clicked, I took off towards the barracks where my room was and packed anything that came in my way, franticly jamming everything into a duffel bag. When that was done, I ran back to the hanger, panting noisily after that burst of energy.

The plane was spinning ready to take off, a couple of soldiers were packing in the bags and Lennox was talking with some other officers next to it. When he spotted me, he came over with a small grin growing on his face.

"Didn't you say that you weren't coming Schmidt?" he said, taking my bag and throwing it over his shoulder as he lead me towards the plane.

"Didn't you say that you were leaving in twenty? There's still four minutes left, "I fired back jokingly. His grin got even bigger. "I thought I'd better hurry up and pack."

He patted my shoulder in a fatherly manner, looking to me with something like pride in his eyes. "I had a feeling you'd catch on, you always do."

The others were already seated in on the benches at the sides, and when he saw me Crocker whooped while Ford and Spencer smiled at me.

"What made you change your mind, girlie?"

I sat down next to him, letting him ruffle my hair a bit. "I never said I wasn't coming. Sandra just assumed and made it a fact. I never said so."

"Good to know I'll have back up against this idiot. I might have went mad," Ford said in a mock serious voice. He was sitting opposite to us and Spencer was somewhere near the cockpit as I heard his voice from further in. I smiled at him as he took my bag from Lennox and put it with the others in the top compartments.

"I couldn't leave you to fend for yourself, you're the only intelligent conversation I get any day."

Crocker pouted and pulled me under his arm." Hey, I thought we had something good going on between us."

I snorted as I pulled myself away." Something called delusion."

"Oh, so cruel."

"It's good to see you getting along, that will help you through the coming days. Get settled, we're taking off soon," Lennox said. He headed up to the front to where Spencer was and I heard his voice joining in the conversation.

Once he left, Ford leaned towards us, lowering his voice as he said, "Am I the only one feeling like a little kid again? Like going off to preschool for the first time…"

Crocker nodded." Yeah, something like that."

"Me too, "I murmured.

"I've been thinking about something for the last few days… We're going to be the new guys, and the rest are going to have a lot of experience over us. So I want to make a deal. "

Ford was looking at us with that serious expression of his, rubbing his chin nervously.

"What deal? " I asked.

"We watch each other's backs. Not just in in the field. We stick together on base too. You're my friends, I want to make sure you'll be all right, and if there's anything you need I'll do whatever I can to help."

"Deal," I said without thinking. I knew he wasn't pulling our legs, he was serious, and he deserved my sincerity in return. We turned our heads together to look at Crocker, who had a little smile on his face. I knew then that he was in for it too.

"Deal. And to make this official…" He trailed off holding up his hands towards us. The little finger on each hand was turned out apart from the rest. "I pinky swear that I'll look out for my friends."

I breathed out a laugh. This was so typical of him, yet I reached out with one of my own pinkies and repeated what he said. Ford did as well.

The plane's ramp was pulled up, and any chance of going back disappeared. I had taken a risk, a big one, yet I felt more excitement than I had felt in a very long time. I had two colleagues- no, two friends looking out for me and I knew that Lennox would look out for us too. And maybe it was the nervousness or the remainder of my adrenaline, but I felt a change in my life like a new chapter was coming up.

Ford and Crocker were already bickering about something, but that only reassured me that I chose right. They would be with me along the way, and whatever came next I would face it with them together. It was time I moved on from the death of my parents. Neither I nor they could do anything about it. So whatever came next, be it good or bad … I was ready to face it.


	4. Chapter 4

It was sometime around 2 in the morning when we arrived at this mysterious base, we stopped at some other bases to pick up more Nest members so it took longer than I expected. When we landed, the officers in charge of the stocks started going through the supplies sorting it through and packing up trucks to deliver to other parts of the base. Lennox took the rest of us that just arrived and showed us to our rooms. Over all there were seventeen recruited for Nest from the other bases, and I turned out to be the only woman out of all of them.

Crocker and Ford took a room between them, and Shay was going to share a room with a guy from one of the other bases. I had a small room all to myself, with all the necessities I needed, but I still had to go to the public showers to wash.

As soon as my head hit the pillow I fell asleep, but felt as if only a few minutes had passed before my alarm clock started beeping at eight am. I dressed and fixed my appearance the best I could and headed to the cafeteria, which was only a couple of corridors away from my room. I almost forgot to take my new key card with me, good thing I left it by the door. There was another level of security around here with these key cards, each one was like an identity card of the employees, with our face and details stamped on it and it had different levels of clearance depending on the individual. Everyone had access to their own rooms, but only the higher ups had clearance to pass to certain rooms like the offices or meeting rooms. The rest of the commons were free to enter and leave without the cards.

There wes a small group whose sole job was to take care of the key passes, maintenance and the likes and they had the logs of who accessed were and at what time, it was easier to keep track of every one on base that way, apart from the cameras.

My breakfast consisted of black coffee and a couple of fruits, then I headed to the hanger which we arrived in. Lennox was going to give us our jobs today and he said he had something to show us. When I arrived I was one of the last ones, the majority were already there and only a few were left. Lennox looked a bit restless, and nervous as well.

"Ok so until the rest arrive, I'm going to start sorting you so that we don't fall behind."

Shay was sorted with security, watching the cameras and patrols. Crocker was put with communications and Ford with the stocks. He sorted me to the small clinic they had in case of emergencies.

"And now that that's done, I've got one last thing to show you. Remember I told you that the Autobots are kind of unique? It might come as a bit of shock when you see them, so I want to prepare you now before we meet them..."

"They're not human."

In the silence that came, you could hear a pin drop. Nobody moved, everyone was probably trying to process that. Crocker was the first to speak, before the shuffling started.

"This is a joke. Right, sir? Pranking the new guys and all of that?"

Lennox pursed his lips, looking as if he saw this coming. "No. This is not a joke. They're very similar, they can feel emotions just like us. The same senses as well, if only stronger. And they're form another planet."

A lot of whispering and murmuring started after that. Mostly how the government was allowing this, and how anyone was going to work with something we had no clue about.

"This has got to be a joke..." Crocker insisted.

Ford was quiet as usual, his hand rubbing his chin as he thought. "I don't think so."

"You're just going to believe it? Just like that? Ford look, I know you believe in other life out there, but this seems a little strange… I mean why would we be working with them? And why all this secrecy?"

"I don't know what's going on, I expect Lennox is going to explain everything soon. As for believing all this, yes I'm willing to give it the benefit of a doubt. It might be true."

He had a point , from the three of us Ford was the most likely to give this a chance , while Crocker never really gave this any thought and now he was facing this without any real warning. I still was a bit unsure, but I was mostly afraid. If they were who I was thinking, then all my nightmares weren't just dreams, they were real and that was what was scaring me the most.

"All right calm down. They're on our side, that's the first thing that you need to know. I have no doubt about that, and if you have any the whole base here and several other people can vouch for that, clear?"

A couple of heads nodded, including Ford's.

"Good, the rest of you I'm hoping to convince once you meet them. Second, they're very similar in the way they think and the way they form bonds, they make friends and they have people – er, bots that they consider family. So don't go thinking that they're mindless, they're not, and that would only disrespect them. They've learned to use the internet, and they managed to learn a lot about our culture and our ways, and I think that they're managing just fine. You on the other hand, need to learn. When you meet them, greet them as you would normally greet anyone, hellos and the likes, until you get used to their style. With me so far?"

More heads nodded and a few even responded with a 'yes, sir'. Meanwhile, I was imagining a weird blob trying to navigate a computer.

"Good. Now, their looks. Again, they're similar, they have two arms, legs a torso and a head. However, they're not flesh and bone, rather they're metal and pistons and fluids."

"They're robots, sir?"

"Not quite. Robots are usually mindless, the Autobots can think for themselves and they have a type of soul. Don't call them mindless, it pisses them off. That and they're big. Really big. This hanger was designed with them in mind, so that they would be able to move freely."

I didn't pay any attention to the hanger when we arrived, but looking at it now it was enormous, even by human standards. It was easily four to five stories high, it only made more anxious to meet these Autobots because I longer had any doubt that they were the same as those at Mission City. Big, metal machines that could crush me by just stepping on me. The way Lennox talked about them however, kept my fear at bay a bit. He wasn't gullible enough to trust anyone just by what they said, they must have really done something to change his opinion on them, as I remember that someone had told me once that Lennox's previous base had been blown up by those terrorists. If they could prove to him that they were worth a chance, then I would a coward not to give them a try.

A little voice in the back of my head kept nagging at me that they were monsters, unworthy of trust. That part of me didn't want to give them a chance.

"I think that you should meet them, you'll understand better when you do. And please give them a chance, I handpicked you with the idea that you are open minded individuals. Do not disappoint me now. A couple of them are still new here, so bear that in mind when they do something stupid," Lennox continued, a bit more cheerfully now. Perhaps this wasn't going as bad as he thought, given how nervous he was in the beginning. "They'll do the same to you, remember you're not the only ones meeting aliens today, this is new to them too. Now if you'll look behind you, you'll be seeing a group of cars parked over there, that's them. I'll go have a word with them and we'll get you acquainted."

Looking behind, there was as Lennox said, a group of parked cars. I don't know how we missed them yesterday, because not only were they a colourful bunch, but they were the oddest combination of cars I ever saw. There was a semi with a red and blue paint job and some custom flames on the sides. A large heavy duty black pickup truck. An ambulance. Two fast looking ones; a yellow muscle car with black stripes and a sliver one with a large bonnet in front. And a police car. They all looked like they had just been polished, with fresh new tyres and that straight-out-of-the-factory look.

Lennox had move next to the large semi , the door had opened from inside and he climbed in. I couldn't see who he was talking to as the windows were tinted black, but I couldn't imagine the large beings he mentioned fitting into those cars even though some of them were pretty big. I hear could hear voices though, Lennox's smooth baritone and another deeper and with a more rumbling quality to it.

After a few quick words, Lennox jumped back out. The engine purred to life and I was surprised by how smooth it sounded, the normal vroom sound that almost every car had, but much purer and clearer. The semi moved forward a few paces towards us, and then stopped and just stood there seemingly vibrating with energy. Lennox had backed away from it leaving several feet between them.

"I'd like you to meet Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots."

Everyone just stared at it, waiting for something to come out, but nothing did. I entertained the idea the idea that Crocker was right and this was all a joke until the engine's purr died down, and the truck exploded.


	5. Chapter 5

The rumble of the engine died down to a low whine, then after a few seconds, the car exploded.

Like an explosion everything flew apart, but it was different as they snapped back towards the metal mass, twisting and flipping in a chaotic rhythm.

With every snap, two pieces joined into one, and another and another, until I could make out limbs forming out. Arms, fingers, feet, a chest... And finally a head, with two blue orbs taking the place of the eyes. The windshield was somewhere on his chest, I could see two tyres behind the knees and I could make out the rest of the parts here and there along the frame.

The robot, thing, whatever it was straightened out to its full height, which was just over two stories high, and looked at us. Its eyes focused on Lennox and gave him a short nod which the Major returned.

"Major Lennox, I hope you are faring well."

"As well as could be. We'll talk later about that later, the floor's yours now," Lennox called out.

"Welcome to Nest. I am Optimus Prime, and along with the rest of my Autobots, I come from the planet Cybertron, a planet which no longer exists. It was ravaged by a war, between us and the Decepticons and unfortunately it could no longer sustain life.

"Our only hope was an ancient artifact, which we followed to Earth. But it perished along with the leader of the Decepticons in Mission City, which is why we are here. The Decepticons are under the command of another, less experienced than the previous but just as dangerous.

"This organization was started with the hopes that together we can keep the Decepticons at bay, and one day even end their threat to your planet. Our differences are our strengths, no matter the race, that we are united is our advantage against the Decepticons so let us put it to good use."

It had such a deep regal tone when it spoke, I wondered if that was its actual voice or if it had somehow copied someone he met… A scenario popped into my head where somehow it had stolen the man's voice, in a very gruesome, bloody way. Which led the current state of shock; my nightmares were real, those monsters at Mission City were real. I didn't imagine those murder machines with red lights. But this one, Optimus Prime had blue eyes. Perhaps it was only the Decepticons who had red lights, or maybe it was an inherited thing or something. If it was the latter, did they inherit anything else? Either way, how was that supposed to make them any different from their kin?

Through my thought process, I hadn't noticed that I was looking straight at Optimus Prime, and it - _him_ , straight at me. His lights were an azure like blue, gentle yet sharp at the same time.

"You have a question, miss?"

"What makes you so different from them? You could just be pretending to be on our side just so you can switch over when it's convenient for you. "

He did not even flinch, if their race _could_ flinch, or look surprised. I got the feeling that either he was expecting a question like this or he had already encountered something similar.

"All life is precious. That is something that the Decepticons do not care about. If we truly meant you harm, we would not be here right now, we would be with them."

He shifted on his long legs, and then he stepped forward and kneeled until his face was just above mine. I could see the little mechanics moving and twitching in his face, so different yet so similar to our own.

"I give you my word as Prime that we are only here to fight with you, not against you. You were never meant to be in our war, and I deeply regret that is has come to this. We will do our best to help in any way we can."

I heard only sincerity in his voice, but that could be a ploy too. I felt a little ticked off that he knelt in front of me like that, like I was some little child in need of understanding. Does he think us that stupid? Or even worse, naïve?

"If Mission City was what you would call your best, then I'd hate to think what would be your worst. Tell me, how many more would die in that scenario? Would your worst actually be killing us yourselves? "

"Schmidt!" Lennox snapped. Everyone had turned to look at me and the Prime, but they were mostly staring at me. I was fuming, how dare he think that he could just win our trust like that? Did they think that I would just forget the deaths they caused?

In the meantime, two of the others transformed as well. The police car transformed in some lean, long-limbed frame with two small wing like appendages on its back and its face had a visor over it leaving only a stern looking mouth to be seen. The ambulance one had the same bi-pedal form as the other two, but its feet were more bird like with the three fingers spread out, but thicker.

The ambulance stepped forward next to the Prime, putting a hand on his shoulder. His voice had a raspy, cranky quality and it seemed annoyed too.

"Leave her be Optimus, she's experiencing symptoms of shock right now, her heart rate is elevated as well. It won't do any good to try to reason with her right now, she won't listen. "

I recognized what he said to be true, and that allowed me take control of some of the anger that had crept up on me. I didn't regret speaking my mind, but I could have done it more subtly.

"What Ratchet says is correct, Major Lennox. There is no need to punish her, "the police car said, and its voice clipped and short, more factual sounding than anything else.

The yellow muscle car switched on its lights and lowered its windows, where the radio could be heard flipping its channels, bits and pieces of words flickering out before it stopped on a song, which still was cut into clips.

"And _I never meant to cause you trouble – never meant to deal you harm_ -"

The police car's wings flickered at the yellow car and he explained seeing as most of us sported a confused expression. "That is Bumblebee, he cannot speak like us and uses radio channels and recordings to form up sentences so that he can communicate."

I was a little surprised at first that it did that, but seeing as it was Bumblebee's way of speaking I still managed to get the gist of it. "Well you did. All of you, not just your psychotic cousins. Playing nice now doesn't erase what's been done."

"Schmidt," Lennox said again. "That's enough. "

"Do not berate her Major. She is only speaking her thoughts, she is well within her rights to do so. The rest of the population would have similar ones, and she just found out the truth," Optimus Prime said, turning his gaze back to me. "I believe I would not be wrong in saying you have experienced loss in Mission City, would I?"

"No, you would not be. "

"I apologize. It must be difficult for you to face us, the battle was only six months ago."

I just glared at him. Who _did_ he think he was?

"Just who the hell do you think you are? Of course it's difficult, I lost my family in that hellhole, what do you expect? That I'd just accept your apology and get on with my life? You brought your war to our planet, it wasn't enough that we had to deal with our own shit , now we have to deal with yours too which happens to be two tones larger than ours and twice as crazy!" I spat. I was surprising myself as well as those around me, I never lost control like that. Being here in their presence just lit a fire that I thought had died out, but apparently I really wasn't over the death of my parents.

"Hey, hey, calm down Schmidt. Take a deep breath, just relax."

Ford was in front of me right now, he was holding my shoulders and blocking my view of those things. He kept murmuring the same things over and over, with his thumbs circling slowly over my shoulders. I wanted to shout at him too, but one look at his eyes made me bite my tongue. He was sad. Not just that unhappy sad, the grieving type of sad. Then I remembered that he had lost his girlfriend there too and all of my anger disappeared. I wasn't the only one who lost family, but I was the only one starting a tantrum. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. And then another, and another, until I felt that fire die down.

"That's better, are you feeling better? "

"Yeah… Thanks."

"Don't worry about it."

He moved next to me, and surprisingly I saw Crocker looking from behind his shoulders at me, his eyebrows squinted slightly. Ford gave me some space, but he still kept one hand on my shoulder.

"Youngling."

It was the white one, Ratchet I think, that spoke. They had moved backwards during my meltdown, but now he stepped closer again. His voice was still raspy and grouchy but it was kinder now, like some grandfather's.

"We are truly sorry for your loss, but you must understand that this is a war. You words are justified, but we never expected you to just take our apology and get over it. As Optimus said, we are here to prevent that from happening again. However, we cannot promise that there will be no more casualties, on both sides. War does not choose who is innocent and who is not, you are not the only one who has suffered loss."

"Schmidt, they lost people- eh, bots-too," Ford murmured next to me.

Once again, it was Ford who grounded me. Now I felt stupid and ashamed along with guilty. The war didn't just revolve around me.

"I'm sorry. I was out of line."

"Given the current circumstances, we don't really blame you. Although, it was wrong of you to assume that we are uncaring. We had loved ones just as you did, "Ratchet said, his tone turning a bit accusing.

I shut my mouth, it was best that I didn't talk anymore. I had just made an entire fool of myself, what a great introduction that was.

We only stayed for a few more minutes, just enough time for them to tell us what they did. Optimus was the leader, Ratchet the medic and Bumblebee was some type of scout, but he also had guardian duties, someone named Sam Witwicky. There was another one of them named Ironhide who was the big black pick up, some weapons master from what I understood, and he was usually off base tracking deserters.

The police car turned out to be the second in command after Optimus, he took care of almost the whole Autobot faction the same way that their leader did, his name was Prowl. The silver one was one of their soldiers, a front liner they said, called Sideswipe. He didn't stay long, in fact he sped off out of the hanger as soon as the introductions were done. Ratchet explained that he was a twin to another Autobot who he had got separated from on the way to meet up with the others. Twins on their planet apparently shared a deeper bond than the average cybertronian, so the separation and all the anxiety was taking a heavier toll on the silver bot.

Once that was done, we were dismissed, but Lennox called me to his office. It was no surprise why he wanted to talk to me.

"That was unprofessional. Especially from you. Did you know that they rank higher than you? Higher than even me? You were lucky it was them, yes lucky. Don't give me that face. They are not what you think they are. If Optimus was any less understanding you would be facing a serious suspension right now, do you understand?

I kept looking at my shoes and just nodded, too meek to say anything.

I heard him sigh. Looking at him I saw that he was once again rubbing the bridge of his nose, and I felt even guiltier that I was causing him more stress. His tone softened before he continued.

"Look. I understand what you're going through. I felt the same way at the beginning, when I first met their kind. And it wasn't the Autobots. There was this thing, some type of scorpion, the size of a horse. It took down one of my squad before we knew what was happening and getting rid of it was a nightmare, we had to call in an air attack to just cut its tail off. That was how unprepared we were, we barely made a dent. And a few hours before, a Decepticon had destroyed one of our bases all on its own. An armored base. We were practically defenseless against them.

"It was when I fought side by side with the Autobots that I realized I was wrong about them being monsters. We were not alone, and they were nothing like the Decepticons. The fact that they even tried to protect us spoke volumes on its own. They had no obligation to protect us or fight for us. They could just have taken their artifact and went back to their planet. But they knew that Megatron would kill us off, just to take revenge. So they stayed. And they lost one of their own in the process."

"I'm sorry, sir. I just couldn't control myself."

"I know. Honestly, I would have probably done the same thing under different circumstances, "he admitted. " The thing is, I still can't let it go. You, I know to be level headed, you'll get the picture once you think it through, and I know you will. There are some on base however , that are not in favor of the Autobots, and if they find out that I let you go without some type of punishment, they'll think its allowed , and I really don't want to deal with anymore shit. I've got enough to take care of. "

That stung a bit, even more since I knew it to be true, the real question was would I still be allowed to stay?

"I'm not kicking you off base, you just got here and I need good people here so that wouldn't be practical. But I'm afraid I'm going to have to suspend you. I'm sorry, but I think it will help you too, give you some time to clear your head at least."

My mouth felt dry. I was starting my career and I was already suspended. "For how long? "

Lennox pursed his lips. "Two days. It wasn't a real offence and as the big guy said you were well within your rights. But it _was_ against a higher ranking officer. "

I bit my tongue before anything came out. At least it was just two days, it could have been a lot worse.

"We're still understaffed, and there's plenty to do. So I've decided to only suspend you from your full time duties. In the meantime, you're going to be helping with stocks, help them sort out and the likes."

"Sir, what full time? I never heard anything about that."

"Right, forgot to tell you, reminds me that I need to tell the others as well. In your file I read that you have some experience with medicines, am I right? Something with pharmaceutics?"

"Yes, sir. I started my third year last year, but I never finished."

"Still, that would give you more experience than someone who's never studied that field. When we're not on a mission, you'll be working with the doctors, an assistant of sorts , making sure that they have all the medicine they need , that's it's all up to date , stock take etcetera, etcetera and I'll have someone teach you some basic medical training. Given your suspension, you'll be starting two days from now. That's your full time, what do you think? "

"Thank you, sir."

Lennox looked a little skeptical, he closed his files and looked straight at me. "Listen, job aside, I was expecting someone to … be surprised, I just honestly thought that it wouldn't be you. You're normally level headed. But I don't really blame you, neither do the others, I know that. But you really surprised me. You were really angry, and I don't think I'm wrong in saying that you've been bottling it all up."

"I've never really talked about it. There were some therapists that were recommended by the hospital, but I never expected to come face to face with them again. I thought I made it all up somehow, "I said. I had talked to some therapists from the hospital, but they never really empathized, they were only doing their jobs.

"I believe you. There is an on base therapist if you ever want to talk to her. I'm not ordering you, but as a friend I would recommend it. Also as a friend, if you need to talk to someone about all this, I won't turn you away. There's something about sharing the same experience that helps, I know, "he said. He had this small smile on his face now, the kind one that was a contrast to his major persona.

"Honestly, Major Lennox, thank you. But I think it's just something that I have to deal with on my own."

And that was it. I was dismissed and allowed to go back to my room. The past hour had emptied me of any energy that I came with, and I just wanted to crawl into bed and sleep it all away. On my way back to my room, I passed by the hanger with the intention of apologizing to the red and blue leader if I saw him. Once I got there, I found only the second in command present and the medic, Prowl and Ratchet if I remembered correctly.

I caught snippets of the weird clicking language I remembered from my dreams and I didn't move a step further. The wings on Prowl's back, which I now recognized to be the doors from his police car cover, flicked a couple of times before he turned towards me. Ratchet seeing this, turned to me as well. Their combined gaze left me unprepared and all I could manage to do was open my mouth but I had trouble thinking of the right words to speak. They didn't look hostile however they weren't particularly welcoming either.

It was Prowl who spoke, his tone even and professional. "Is there something we can assist you with, Ms. Schmidt?"

"No-no, I mean, I just-looking for my room-"I stammered. I was still embarrassed from earlier and I had no idea how to talk to them now.

"Keep going down the corridor, youngling. The cafeteria is just at the end of it, I believe the barracks are close enough." Ratchet was the one who spoke this time, his tone still grouchy, but not unkind.

"Yes, yes – thank you."

I slipped away, trying not to look too much that I was running away. I heard them resume their clicking once I left, who knows what they were saying. As Ratchet said, the cafeteria was just down the corridor and I managed to find my room from there. I fell on my bed as soon as I got in and closed my eyes ready to take a week long nap , but with all that was going through my head I was doubtful that I would find any sleep tonight.

* * *

The youngling femme hurried out of the hanger as if she had scraplets coming after her. Ratchet looked at his friend, his irritated features easily falling into place.

"This femme is nothing like Mikaela, her I can handle but this one irritates me."

"Many things irritate you, Ratchet, "Prowl responded. "What is it about this one that vexes you?"

"Mm, she's moody for one. Before she left she was angry at us, now she's scared of us stammering to speak a single sentence. Mikaela's easier to get along with, she's a tough one."

Prowl's lips twitched for a second. "Perhaps it is that you are more used to Mikaela? It makes you biased, I know for a fact that she also suffers from bad moods at times. I had a dent to prove it."

"I remember that,she wasn't being moody, you irritated her so you deserved that"

Prowl stared at Ratchet and even with the majority of his face hidden Ratchet could tell that the second in command was giving him a dry look.

"Fine. Mikaela can be moody as well, happy?"

"Very much."

* * *

 **So , that's the fifth chapter out. I hope that anyone reading this is liking it so far and if there's any criticism I would like to hear it, be it good or bad :)**

 **I'm hoping to include more Autobots ( It is Transformers after all :P) but it depends on how the story is shaped , so we'll see later.**

 **Anyway , thank you for giving this a go and I hope you enjoy the rest - X**


	6. Chapter 6

Two weeks had passed since the 'meeting'. Two weeks of me hiding in the clinic and the stores to avoid any interaction with any giant robots. I lost track of how many times I went over the stocks, how many times I rearranged the shelfs and how many times I rechecked every single box in that room. It had become a near obsessive ritual, because I was convinced that if I wasn't doing something then there was a chance that we would cross paths again. And we were _not_ going to, not if I had any say in the matter.

But that was just me. The others had pretty much gotten used to them being around, some had even gotten friendly enough to have regular conversations with them, not on the same level as Lennox, but just enough to make me uncomfortable. Could they not see that they couldn't just be trusted? They were dangerous. Sure they were helping us now, but they had no obligation to keep on doing so, and the minute that they no longer needed our help, or any government funding, they would leave. Or worse, they'd turn against us.

The thing is I had no proof. Not yet at least. Apart from the occasional scuffle that the silver one and the weapons specialist got into, which would in turn would drag the medic or the SIC away from their duties, they barley caused any trouble. I wasn't looking for anything specific, I just wanted to prove that they were…

I wasn't sure what I wanted to prove they were.

I also wasn't sure that it was the others that I wanted to prove wrong, but I wasn't ready to acknowledge that yet.

"You know, if you put those boxes in a different order _, again_ , they're not going to unlock some universal secret."

Ford was pretty much a constant. He kept to his promise, he was looking out for me and Crocker. He checked in on us every once in a few days. Well, he checked on me every few days.

"Who knows…? Maybe I'll find out where babies come from."

"Gosh, you don't know?" he said, faking a tone of surprise. He put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me in a side hug." Well, when a man such as myself and a lady unlike you-"

"Hey!"

"-Really love each other, they decide to do the thing-"

"Oh, shut up! I know where babies come from, you idiot."

"Mm, seems those boxes did have a magic order."

I elbowed him in the ribs and moved on to the next batch, hiding my smile away from him.

"Well, that wasn't very nice, but I guess I'll suffer a little boo-boo to see you smile."

I gave him a side grin while continuing on with my work. "That wasn't a boo-boo. And I can smile whenever I want, you know."

He had occupied an office chair next to the desk I was using to sort out the batches and he was swinging lazily from side to side as I moved around. It was a routine we had formed, he visits me when his shift was done, I visit him sometimes, rarely actually, and we just talk. Crocker was off doing his own thing most of the time, with the Autobots, so he left us mostly alone. I missed him, but Ford's company was just simple and easy, so I didn't mind all that much.

"I know, you just need a little push sometimes."

"Mneh-mneh," I replied.

"How original."

"Shut up."

Then we lapsed into a comfortable silence for a while, him still swaying and me still moving around.

"You need to get out more," he said suddenly." Not even the doctors stay here as much as you do, and they're in charge of this place."

"No need, my job is here, you visit me here and I can conveniently hide while I work."

"True to all, but you still need to socialize more."

"No. I socialize enough with you and Crocker, don't really need all that much more," I said, slamming the next box a little more harshly than was necessary.

"But it's not just me and Crock here. There are so many people, if you give them a chance I know you'll like at least one of them," he insisted.

"Them being _only_ people? Or them also including _them_?" I snapped, facing him for a few seconds to glare at him. He just gave me the same annoyed expression he gave me whenever I was being petulant.

I huffed as a response and decided to try to ignore him. This wasn't the first time we were having this conversation and I knew he would try a different angle every now and then. By now it was our main ad nauseam.

I heard him sigh from behind me. "What are you still trying to prove? I'm pretty sure that if they were going to try something, they would have by now. Way before we arrived. And even if they did, we're not exactly defenceless either."

"Nothing and you don't know that. Maybe they're just biding their time…"

"Biding their time for what exactly? "

"I don't know… more of their own or something? So they can blow us sky high more easily?"

He stayed quiet after that, just thinking. I could hear his cogs turning.

"Would it help if I said that I was giving them a chance?"

I let out a long sigh and turned to look at him. He wasn't angry or annoyed, he never was. He was just curious most of the time, just trying to help. Crocker was a social butterfly, he made friends anywhere he went, but I was the loner, the one that had to be dragged to morning training to at least bond over physical sweat and all of that. I felt like a little pet, except for the feeding part, I knew how to feed myself just fine.

He kept his gaze on me, it wasn't uncomfortable, but it was weird sometimes just how patient he could be. It wasn't something I was used to. I grew up with a family that were pretty much known to be spitfires, so I wasn't used to someone actually thinking things through and letting me think for a while.

I stopped moving around and tried to figure out how exactly I was going to explain what I was feeling, but I couldn't. I couldn't concentrate on anything but the swishing and creaking from his side of the room. Somehow he was still swaying on that stupid chair.

"Ok. Get out. I did my socializing today, you made sure of that. You brought _that_ up again and I disagreed. Now go take Crocker to bed."

He laughed. And he kept swinging. "It's not 10pm yet."

"Ok, then go annoy him until it is and then take him to bed," I replied, getting back to sorting the boxes.

"All right, all right, I got the hint." The chair creaked as he got up and I heard his steps as he came behind me. He patted my back and turned to leave. "Don't take too long, you've been here all day."

"I thought 10pm was bed time." It was only a few minutes past nine.

"For Crocker. Who needs a bed time to shut up. He can get just one hour of sleep and be ready for the Olympics the next day. You unfortunately need more rest, so your bedtime is earlier, or else you'll wake up looking like Frankenstein's bride."

"Piss off."

"See, you're rude when you're tired."

"Ford."

"Yeah?"

"Just go. Before I throw something at your head."

He couldn't have left for more than a few minutes, but I missed his presence. And he was right, I was tired. I had gone over the same box for the past few minutes and I still couldn't make sense of it, not because it was wrong, but my mind was somewhere else. How was it that even when he wasn't here, Ford still managed to be right?

I closed the store, signed away the logbooks and then headed out to the cafeteria. I barely ate lunch and I thought a small meal before bed would help me sleep better. The cafeteria was past the main hangar, the one where we met them, so I had to go past it to get to the cafeteria and then my barracks. I felt a sharp pressure in my chest and it got bigger the closer I got to the hanger. It was routine by now to get as close to it as possible and then speed walk as fast as I could past it. Today, however, the noise coming from inside made my curiosity overcome my fear for a while, which was why I was currently _looking covertly_ at the people and robots in the hanger. A voice that sounded very much like Ford kept telling me that spying was wrong and that this was my subconscious telling me that it meant that I was craving social interaction. I told the voice very plainly where it could shove its opinions.

I sighed, for what seemed the hundredth time today. I was really tired if I was arguing with my thoughts.

The voices from inside caught my attention again.

From my position by the doors, I had a pretty clear view of the inside. There were still plenty of boxes and equipment to be sorted out by the opening on the other side and there were a few planes that were currently being serviced or that were just garaged here filling the hanger. Even though some planes were rather big, they still didn't take up half the space that the Autobots did, even more so when they were moving. Hand gestures and a few steps here and there. They were almost human. Except for the large metal beings part.

The silver one was there. And the big black one. There was also the scout, Bumblebee. He was sitting on top of a metal crate which seemed to hold up his weight pretty well even though it was dented at the top.

They were talking to a few soldiers near them. I recognized Ford's stance, legs shoulder width apart with his hands crossed over his chest. Crocker was there too, his voice booming lightly in the echoing space. There were a few other soldiers that I didn't recognize and one that was in civilian clothes. The latter seemed different from the rest. Mainly his stance. You don't go through months of Lennox's training and not gain the trained type of stance. This one had a more relaxed, carefree body language, so either he was really good at looking relaxed or he wasn't even a soldier.

I remembered something about the scout having a charge or something, a teenage boy. Or more like young man. He seemed a bit eccentric with the way he was moving his hands around and his tone, but the scout seemed used to it, comfortable even. He said something to Crocker, who responded with something funny as they all laughed, even Ford and the robots.

The pressure in my chest turned dull and heavy. They never laughed like that around me.

I pulled myself away from the hanger and headed straight to the barracks as I no longer felt like eating. All I wanted was a long dreamless sleep where I'd wake up when there were no giant robots and I still had the beetle and its owners. I knew it was all wishful thinking, but I couldn't help but hope for it to be true. I slipped in between the sheets on my bed letting my sleep deprived mind imagine that I was back in my room in my own bed under my own sheets, with a football game as background noise and the smell of something good cooking from the kitchen. And that this was all just a bad dream.

A really bad dream.


	7. Chapter 7

Bright red alarms started ringing and there was a moment of silence before everyone was rushing about with a new sense of purpose. The alarm rang again, adding an extra kick to the already moving soldiers. The practice drills they had had prepared them well for all the alarms. This one was for the main reason that they were here, it meant that a Decepticon had been detected. Ever since they had arrived, there were only sightings and several of them only had led them to dead ends, while the rest they had arrived too late to catch any trails. The dead-ends left most of them feeling frustrated afterwards, even though it meant that none of them had to face any Decepticons just yet.

Now while all the gearing up had him excited for the mission, he was still nervous deep down, but he hid it well behind a carefree exterior. Sure the bots had been careful when they were near them, defining the term 'gentle giants', but he had also seen them lift large metal containers with effortless ease which left him to wonder what kind of strength they really had. It was still cool though and he was looking forward to seeing them in action, no amount of pessimistic comments from Schmidt could dull that excitement.

The woman was talking to the other medics as they checked their packs and medical supplies. She had her hair tied up tightly in a bun and was wearing the medic's patch on her uniform with her ever present stolid mask in place, she looked ready to go. But with the amount of scepticism she treated the Autobots with, he wasn't so sure that she was going to be able to put that aside just because they were on a mission.

Crocker was not as ignorant as people thought he was. He made note of a lot of things, he just didn't make it obvious. She barely had any interaction with them since they got here and she was still skittish anywhere near them. He just hoped Ford managed to talk some sense into her so she wouldn't do something stupid out there. Chances were low since she was with the medics who were mostly going to be standing by in case of injuries, but literally anything could happen… The giant metal robots from space were proof enough.

He was going to be right in the thick of it. His squad were going to be the additional help that the bots were going to get, mostly on Sideswipe's side, targeting any weak spots and watching the silver Autobot's back. Ford was on the other squad backing up the boss bot. He knew that he could handle it, Ford was pretty smart after all, but he'd feel better if they were on the same squad. Not that he didn't trust the others to have his back, but with Ford it just felt right, like two pieces working seamlessly together.

"Ten minutes until take off!"

He quickly checked his supplies again just in case. Once that was done, he looked around for his friends again. Ford was nowhere to be seen, so he probably was already aboard the plane. Schmidt was finally alone, the other medics heading to the planes or doing last minute checks, which left her fidgeting aimlessly with her pack. In a quick decision he jogged over to her, mentally hoping that no one would interrupt them for a few minutes.

"Hey, girlie."

Her surprised face turned to annoyance once she spotted him.

"What do you want?"

"Well I was just going to say hi, but now I'm rethinking it." He really was. A faint wave of irritation hit him, but it left quickly enough. She talked to Ford normally enough, so why was it she always snapped at him? "You have everything you need? Supplies? Radio?"

"Yeah, I checked again, but I have everything so-"

"Good, good. Are you going to be all right though?" She gave him a light scowl at his interruption.

"Yeah, I have everything and I won't be alone so if anything should happen I have back up."

She kept fidgeting with her pack, rearranging her stuff, pulling things out and putting them in again.

"I meant, are you going to be all right with _them_ out there with you?" he asked, getting straight to the point. There wasn't a lot of time and she'd probably play stupid the whole time if he let her.

She stopped fidgeting and closed her pack. "I'll be fine."

"We'll be close," he said, referring to him and Ford. "If you need anything just call, ok? Don't be stubborn." He knew they were empty words. In reality, neither he nor Ford would be able to just leave their squads without good reason. And while there were no strict rules regarding the radios, he doubted that the others would be happy with any unnecessary chatter. Plus she was too prideful to call for help. He just wanted to offer a few encouraging words before they left, just enough to settle her nerves and let her know that she was not alone.

"I know," Schmidt snapped. Her lips were pursing up like she had just tasted something sour and her dark brows frowned at him.

That wave of irritation came back, only now it was stronger and it didn't abate as quickly as it did before. He was okay with her snapping at him when he was annoying her as that would be partly his fault, but he didn't want her snapping at him when he was nervous enough himself, especially when he was just being friendly. He thought it was best he left now, before he'd say something to make her snap at him again and leave him in a foul mood for the rest of the mission.

"OK, see you later then" he said, albeit in a tone less kindly than before. He was almost to his carrier when he heard his name called out.

Schmidt was looking at him from where he talked to her. Her packed was hanging on one shoulder now and she was half turned to her own carrier. Her lips were still pursed, but her brow was no longer frowned in irritation as it looked somewhat apologetic now.

"Take care of yourself. And thank you," she said, continuing hesitantly flicking her wrist. "For you know…"

And then she walked away.

Schmidt had actually thanked him. In words. In front of people. It left him staring in her direction for a moment and he was pretty sure his mouth was hanging open. Shaking himself out of the brief trance he jogged the last few steps up inside his carrier.

He turned to the soldier next to him, not caring that he didn't even know his name. "Hey, bud. Can I ask you something?"

If he was surprised, the soldier didn't show it. He had just sat on one of the available seats and Crocker did the same. "Sure…"

"This is all real, right? This moment? Today?"

Silence.

"I guess."

"Well, good. Because I thought it was the end of the world or something. Don't know if hell is freezing over though, never been there. But I'm pretty sure there were no flying pigs around today, right?"

The soldier was leaning faintly away from him now. "No, I have not seen any _flying_ pigs."

Satisfied with his answer, Crocker leaned back against his seat. He was happy for the moment, it was an achievement to get a thank you from the shrew. Ford always said that she wasn't that bad, but just needed a little –or a lot- of coercing. He decided he was marking this day on his calendar. He turned to ask the soldier if he knew the date, but there was only an empty seat next to him now. He scanned the heads already seated and ready for take-off and spotted the man off on the other side of the plane, as far away from him as possible. As if he was feeling his gaze, the soldier squirmed in his seat before settling with his head bent as if going to sleep, but his posture was obviously too stiff for it to be a casual doze.

Crocker settled back in his seat, a tad disgruntled the man's swift absence.

" _Rude_."


End file.
